


Aureals & Grakes

by whornacia



Category: Original Work
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-06-02 21:10:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19449598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whornacia/pseuds/whornacia
Summary: In a post-war fictional world where an island continent is divided into two: Aurealians & Graken. Their matriarchal society is held together by elite warriors corresponding to each side called Aureals and Grakes. This follows the characters Sacha, a young Aurmok (Auren in training) and Sauren, a high officer among the Auren as their paths cross and these two women learn about themselves and each other.





	1. Sacha

“Come and Get me!” shouted Brina.  
I and my sister Jess ran after her on the grass covered hill in front of our house. We circled the hill and I stopped at the edge of the cliff that our house was perched on. I stood, looking out at the deep blue ocean breaking softly on the rocks below; the other Islands nearby, just silhouettes along the horizon under the midday sun.  
“Sacha, Don’t get too close to the edge” mother called. I turned around and waved to her. She was hanging our laundry on the line as the breeze whipped her loosely tied brown hair around in her face. She always smiled when she was in the sunshine. She said it made her feel alive, she would close her eyes and soak it in, letting her golden tinted skin glow. Jess came around the house with some sticks for Brina and I.  
“En garde” Jess shouted.  
We all began to haphazardly swing and hit each other. Our sticks clanking as they struck. My father, who was tending the garden, turned to look at us and laugh. My mother put down her things and walked barefoot down the hill putting her hair up in a bun as she came. A playful look on her face at the teachable moment she was approaching.  
“Let me show you how to do this.” She said taking the sword from me.  
She stood behind me, her plain tan dress running against my bare legs as the breeze filled it like a sail. She then put the sword into my hands, shifting them up and down to grip the sword better.  
“Hold it out away from your body, think of it as an extension of your own arm.” She said.  
I awkwardly held it out and swung.  
“Like this?” I asked  
She shook her head and took the stick from me then backed up and took a stance. She swung the sword over her head and planted her foot on the ground in front of her. A whooshing sound came from the stick as she brought it out in front of her and with a flurry, she went through several graceful motions, moving fluidly like a ribbon in the wind.  
Jess and Brina mimicked her instructions awkwardly.  
“Yes that’s right, now when you swing, shift your weight with the sword. Lean into it.”  
I swung at Jess’ sword and knocked it right out of her hand. It went flying into the wind and onto the nearby garden. Jess turned with an open mouth and a look of shock. My father looked at us with astonishment. My mother looked at me with pride.  
She stood up and said to my sisters, “Girls, help your father for a little while, I need to talk to Sacha for a minute.”  
My sisters stood up and began helping my father condition the earth to allow farming. My mother took my hand and we walked to the stairs that hugged the cliff toward the beaches below.  
“You are beginning to blossom my little Aurmoke. You show potential far surpassing my own at your age” She said to me.  
I thought, how could that be? Mother was perfect and beautiful in every way, I cant be anything like she was as a child.  
“Listen Sacha, you must always protect your younger sisters. They do not have the strength of spirit that you do.” My mother said in a stern voice.  
“I will mommy.” I replied.  
“You are born of the Eagle, destined for Greatness, the Symbol of the Auren. I know whatever you have in store, the world will change because of it.  
We walked the beach picking up bits of shells and odd looking rocks to add to our collection.  
“Mommy, will you tell me about your service as an Auren?” I asked.  
She replied with a sigh, in an almost exasperated tone, “No Sacha, you know Auren law forbids me from telling you about my years in service. All you need to know is that your father, your sisters, and you mean everything to me compared to any adventure I had as an Auren.” She looked back at me with a loving expression.  
“Can’t you tell me anything?”  
She shrugged.  
“You see that light over there?” She pointed at the land mass far from the island, the mainland. There was the city of Peresh, and its glittering ports were to the far right, but she was pointing at the beacon in the sky. Beyond the mountains there was a column of light that shined down.  
I nodded excitedly.  
“That is the golden gate. It sits like an arch on a tiny island in the middle of capitol bay. It is surrounded by the grand golden spires of Aureal City. The arch serves two purposes. First, when an Aurmok has finished their training and is ready to begin their service, they pass through the gate, completing their transformation into an Auren. Their skin turns gold and their eyes shimmer brilliantly, imagine whatever eye color they had before, just a hundred times brighter with gold flecks around the center. Like an eclipsed sun. The second purpose of the arch is when the bay is closed or under attack, there are golden gates that rise up out of the water on either side of the island to block off the bay. I don’t have anything to do tomorrow so maybe I will take you to the city. We can pick up some supplies while were there.”  
I grinned with excitement. I had always wanted to go to Aureal City and see the fabled grandeur of the spires around Capitol Bay.  
My mother turned her head up and took a deep breath.  
“You smell that?” she asked.  
I sniffed the air, detected nothing other than the smell of the sea, then shook my head.  
“I smell a storm coming soon, and a big one. Look at how low the tides have gotten. All that water is going out and up to the sky.” She replied.  
“How do you smell a storm?” I asked.  
“Take a deep breath.”  
“OK”  
“Now, do you feel how heavy the air feels in your nose when you breathe in?”  
“Yes.”  
“That is the smell of a storm coming.”  
“OH!” I exclaimed.  
“Come on, let’s hurry back home before it starts raining.”  
We turned and raced back down the beach toward home.


	2. Sauren

An obvious look of discontent sprawled across her face. It was common at that age to convey emotions so plainly without consideration of perception, it wasn’t intended but if it went uncorrected, she might never learn to be cautious with her expressions. I struck her across the face as my mother would have, had I done the same. She knew immediately her mistake and corrected it. The mark of my hand burned onto her flesh as a temporary reminder of her thoughtlessness. I cleared my throat and spoke as softly and as clearly as I could.  
“Where exactly are you from?”   
She looked down at the table between us and spoke in a distinct Islander accent.  
“The long Island of Malurg.”  
I watched her wring her delicate little hands nervously. She looked up, I frowned and she stopped.   
“Do you know where they took my sisters?”   
I let the silence ring for a moment; the palm leaves rustled in the breeze outside.   
“Don’t worry about your sisters young one. Your path no longer runs with theirs.” I replied plainly.  
Tears began to well up in the young girl’s eyes. I looked more sternly and continued.  
“Please, I haven’t seen them since we left home.” She cried.  
“You were chosen and sent on the word of Officer Satah and I told him that I would look you over, as a favor. Now enough with the crying and lets continue with the Interview.”   
She nodded and replied in her small voice  
“I apologize mistress, I am very grateful for your consideration and your time.”   
I gave her a reassuring smile and asked the next question.  
“Of what Birth are you?”  
“The sign of the Eagle, 12 years and 4 months”  
“Ahh, you’re destined for greatness I see. You should fit in nicely here”  
I looked at her physical appearance. Her build was frail and rather weak, she hadn’t had much food; that, anyone could see. She had a tiny nose, lovely blue eyes that had a particular captivating quality to them, long reddish brown hair tied back in a loose knot. She wore tattered green robes that didn’t fit, and a little ivory colored nautilus shell, a tinge of pink radiating from its center.   
“Now tell me about your life in Malurg, about your family.”  
She thought for a moment and then replied,  
“My mother was an Auren but paid her way out of the service. She was a craftswoman, she carved corals into jewelry and baubles,. She and I would walk the beaches of Malurg looking for corals together to sell at the market stalls, until she died when I was 11 years. My father is a fisherman and a farmer but he had to stop to care for me and my sisters. I attended school when I could and I spent much of my time tending to the daily chores and duties my mother left to my sisters and me. After she died, Officer Satah saw to my sisters Jess, Brina, and I. ”   
“That sounds like a truly charmed existence. You had it better than most.” I sighed closing my book. “That completes the Interview, you look like you have potential and a certain cleverness about you, if you can learn to control your emotions then you may have a future here. If you will follow me now I will show you to your quarters.”   
I stood and she followed suit. Her eyes were locked on my robe, I asked  
“What is it that interests you so much about my garb?”   
“It is the prettiest thing I have ever seen.”  
“Most elegant.” I corrected without thinking.  
The young girls from small island towns like her only ever see the simpler way of life, I was only wearing a common robe, and it was in no way elegant except in its simplicity. I lead her out of the main office of the Brellen, and out into the courtyard. Several other Auren were there, training or meditating. This was a good chance for the young girl, whom I haven’t even bothered to learn the name of yet, to see her possible future. I walked with her on the covered wooden walkway around the courtyard to the sleeping quarters. The smell of tea brewing from the barracks floated through the hot tropical air. I slid the door to the sleeping quarters open and allowed her to enter. Then slid the wooden door shut behind me. The vaulted ceilings made the air light and cool in here. Mats and pillows were lined neatly, two per partition. I lead her around one of the corners to where her mat would be.  
“There are mats in that closet, you are to change yours every three days. If I or another Aurig finds you have been sleeping on a dirty mat, you will endure a beating.”  
Another of the young Aurmoks, or Aurens-in-training passed and I stopped her.  
“This is your bunk mate, Aurmok Daesha. She has already been here for 7 months, she will show you what you need to do.”  
The girl nodded at Daesha.   
“Mazen.” She said politely, nodding her head back to the girl.   
“Any questions?”  
She replied “No Aurig Sauren.”  
“Good then, Welcome to Brellen Mirel.”


	3. Sacha

I sighed with relief and looked at Daesha as Aurig Sauren left.  
Her nose was pointed and her face was square. Daesha was becoming beautiful in a way that only time could do. She was also beginning to get the tell-tale Golden tint to her skin that all Aurens get while training. Her reddish hair was a tangled mess all in her face and she wore a thin maroon robe with a white sash tied at the waist.  
  
  
“Your footlocker is over here” she pointed to a corner where a stack of footlockers (empty I assumed) sat against the wall. There were only three left. I grabbed the one on top and found it to be much heavier than I first expected. Daesha grabbed the handle on the other end and helped me carry it effortlessly to the foot of where my mat would go. The wooden floor creaked underneath the weight of the chest as we sat it down. Many indentations marked the floor where countless footlockers had sat through the ages. Brellen Mirel was one of the older Brellens and had been an important place for Aurens to train back when the wars were still going on.  
  
  
“Thanks” I said softly to her. She nodded and said  
  
  
“Be sure to go through it before you go to your first class.”  
  
  
With that she left and I waited until I could hear her steps no longer. I crouched down on the mat and began to weep. I had been so excited when I was told I would become an Auren. Their glittering gold suits of armor and the intricate carvings bordered by their light golden tinted skin and their stoic and authoritative faces. They were beautiful and intense in an almost frightening way. A cruel beauty with eyes that pierced your soul and could make you feel a pleasure so intense, you couldn’t hide anything. They weren’t just fighters though, they were peacekeepers as well and could be seen frequenting taverns and inns while off duty wearing elegant robes with intricate hair styles meant to impose a sense of serenity. I only ever saw them in their gowns and the glamorous lifestyle they carried with them. That was the life I wanted. The life my mother had. I had no idea how difficult this would be. It will require years of service with promise great reward at the end.  
Living on the island of Malurg, my family were not rich by any means. My mother, being the matriarch of the house was an Auren at one time and didn’t talk about. She only ever told us that it was nothing compared to having a family and that she did everything she could to buy her freedom. She died when a storm came and wiped out a great deal of the Island. She was searching for blankets and pillows to cover ourselves but when she left, a wave crashed into the north side of the house and she (along with the whole north end of the house) was swept away. Her body was found on the nearby island of Obon, we could see her glittering skin among the debris from the cliffs where the ruins of our home was perched. We were in mourning for quite some time. Our family was exempted from the collections because our mother was an Auren but we were also banned from representation on the town council. We had nothing else to do. My father had trouble finding a job, seeing as he was a man, so he sold his fish he caught at the market every three days. Not long after, a male Officer named Satah came to Malurg to scout for future Auren and Grakes. He found my sister, I, and three other girls from the town fit to be either. There was a week long process of learning the language of the Sheth and being observed to see which group we would best fit with. We were told on the last day what we were to become and were instructed not to share with any others because they could kill for your place. I was told I was an Auren.  
I had no personal items that I brought with me, save for my mother’s nautilus shell necklace. I took it off and opened the footlocker to inspect it. Inside was a smaller box and a stack of robes and loafers. There were 7 robes and 3 pairs of loafers, all of different designs and colors. The smaller Box interested me though, it was made entirely of a white wood with eagles feathers carved into the top and a lock on the front. Inside were toiletries and tools. Scissors, a comb to keep my hair straight, a brush, a bottle of oil, pieces of leather to tie my hair, a small make-up kit, a knife, spoon, fork, plate, bowl, bottle, two cups, a flint and a kettle stand. On the roof of the larger trunk was a small case. Inside was a Golden dagger, a key, a ring, and a note. The note read:  
  
  
Dear Aurmok (Auren in training),  
The things in this chest are to help you in your journey to become an Auren. You will attend daily classes and training sessions, between sessions you will perform chores to maintain the Brellen. Come and see me for your schedule tomorrow morning. Here is a description your new prized possessions.  
→The dagger is to be worn at your hip at all hours, one never knows when it will be needed.  
→The key with the likeness of an eagle carved into it is for emergencies only. You slide it into the mechanism in the ground of the courtyard to open the secret passage if we are overwhelmed and need to escape. DO NOT USE OTHERWISE.  
→The ring is to be worn on your left hand, fourth finger. This signifies to other Auren that you are one of them. Without it, do not expect even common courtesy. Any deal between two Auren is struck by locking rings.  
→The makeup is to be worn when the elders come to visit or when you are training with your etiquette lessons.  
→The utensils are yours, do not share or borrow them.  
→The hair care tools are to be used only for your hair.  
→The oil is for your skin and hair; to keep them clear and smooth. It also makes it easier to put your hair up.  
→Your flint and kettle stand are to be used only by you in your own spit.  
If any questions should arise about any of your equipment, usage or otherwise, please see Aurig Nasta in the supply house.  
Keep in mind the magnitude of this opportunity and do not take it for granted. All it takes is a word to have you thrown out into the street. Behave with the utmost respect to everyone, Aurmok and Auren alike. Above all, DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES FRATERNIZE WITH THE GRAKES WHILE IN TRAINING.  
As your overseer, I am able and willing to handle any issue you may have.  
AURIG SAUREN


End file.
